Syracuse, NY -- Taxpayers paid for day care, housing, food and health care for a Syracuse toddler who was beaten to death, but no one was required to regularly check on the baby or family.
Twenty-month-old Imani Jennings and her mother, Cherron Patterson, 18, received services from five county programs and were in Family Court for a custody case. Patterson also regularly attended high school.
There are no periodic checks on a baby because social services programs are voluntary, and staff members are not required to keep tabs on people receiving such services unless there's a report of abuse or neglect, Onondaga County officials said.
Among the school, the county and local agencies, there are parenting classes and other services available to help teen parents, but they are voluntary.
After Imani's death Nov. 21, some in the community questioned how such a tragedy could happen....
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